The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ordered ₹35 lakh compensation to be paid by the former Vice-Chancellor of Laxmibai National Institute of Physical Education (LNIPE), Gwalior, and an additional ₹6 lakh by the State and institute authorities for their collective failure to provide a safe working environment and for gross delay in responding to a sexual harassment complaint.
The case arose from a 2019 complaint by a female Yoga Instructor, who alleged repeated incidents of sexual harassment by the then Vice-Chancellor. She further alleged a hostile work environment and institutional apathy despite escalating her grievances to multiple authorities including the Ministry of Youth Affairs, NHRC, and PMO.
The Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), constituted by the Ministry following the complaint, concluded that the petitioner was indeed subjected to unwelcome sexual conduct and sustained harassment, resulting in her inability to continue at the institute. The committee found that the Vice-Chancellor misused his official position to intimidate and harass the petitioner and influenced institutional processes to silence her.
The ICC also held that the in-house committee at LNIPE had failed in its duties by delaying the inquiry, refusing to act in a time-bound manner, and by constituting biased panels. The ICC’s findings were accepted by the High Court, which observed that the allegations stood proven and unchallenged.
The Court further rebuked the local police authorities for their failure to register an FIR promptly, noting that a criminal case was registered only after the intervention of the Supreme Court. Holding the delay to be a violation of the guidelines in Lalita Kumari v. State of UP, (2014) 2 SCC 1, the Court ordered ₹5 lakh compensation from the State, to be recovered from the erring officers.
The Court directed:
₹35 lakh to be paid by the former Vice-Chancellor personally for loss of salary, mental trauma, and reputational damage.
₹1 lakh penalty on LNIPE for not ensuring a safe workplace.
₹5 lakh compensation from the State, recoverable from responsible police officials.
The Union of India to consider the petitioner’s request for a transfer to another institute of her choice.
The Court reiterated the constitutional and statutory obligation of institutions and public authorities to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace, and held that institutional silence in such cases compounds the trauma and violates the victim’s fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution.
Appearances:
Petitioner: Shri Yogesh Chaturvedi
State: Shri M.S. Jadon
Respondent: Shri Praveen Kumar Newaskar : Dy Solicitor General for India
Shri Anil Sharma, Advocates for Respondent 2
Shri Siddhartha Sharma, Advocates for Respondents No. 6 to 9.
